Recognizing Varicose Veins and How to Handle them Through EVLT Therapy

Varicose veins are a common medical condition in humans, especially in women. This condition occurs when the veins, especially in the legs, widen or swell, causing the veins to appear on the skin. Varicose veins may initially appear as fine lines or branching that are blue or pink under the skin, which can later develop into swelling and become painful if not treated properly.

Symptoms that may arise in people with varicose veins include:

  • Sore in the calf
  • Itching on the feet
  • The skin of the feet becomes dry and damaged
  • Swelling when sitting / standing for a long time / long trips
  • Starting to look pattern veins on the legs
  • Unhealed sores and sores

This situation generally occurs due to excessive pressure or burden on the blood vessels, which then weakens the blood vessel walls and causes swelling. Certain factors such as obesity, pregnancy and jobs that involve standing or sitting for long periods of time can cause varicose veins.

Things that can be done to anticipate the occurrence of varicose veins include:

  1. Doing physical activity to help improve blood circulation in the body.
  2. Avoid sitting or standing for too long to reduce swelling and blockages in blood vessels.
  3. Using compression socks to help improve blood circulation in the legs and reduce swelling.
  4. Limiting salt intake which can cause fluid buildup in the body and worsen varicose veins.
  5. Maintain weight.
  6. Consult a doctor if the condition of varicose veins is interfering with your activities, in order to get the right treatment for your condition.

In some patient conditions, varicose veins not only interfere with appearance but also begin to interfere with health. Therefore further action is needed to handle it. One that can be done is the Endovenous Laser Treatment (EVLT) technique. This method is a non-surgical or minimally invasive procedure by inserting a catheter into the vein which causes the vein wall to collapse. This therapy aims to close the veins that cause varicose veins, so that blood can flow through healthy veins.

The advantage of EVLT is that this procedure is minimally invasive so that the scars are very small. Thus the recovery period for patients can be faster. Patients can return to activities the day after carrying out the EVLT procedure.

Article written by dr. Marolop Pardede, Sp.BTKV(K), MH (Specialist in Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery at EMC Cikarang & Pekayon Hospital).